A Jedi and Her Shadow
by Bonesboy15
Summary: Raised by his father, Naruto Namikaze was trained to be a jack-of-all-trades mercenary. The Clone Wars are coming to a close and the blonde finds himself wanting to right a wrong. Hopefully the young Twi'lek Knight with blue skin will help him. NaruAayla. REWRITING
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Yes, that's right. I, Bonesboy15, have **_**another**_** new fic. This one actually predates the previous two, as it is my alternate Naruto/Star Wars crossover I had thought up. Please sit back, relax, and enjoy as Naruto rises as...**

**A Jedi and Her Shadow**

**I**

**(Disclaimer: Hm, Naruto and Star Wars the rights to, I do not have.)**

* * *

"Right this way, Master Kenobi," the tall Kaminoan said to the much shorter human dressed in brown robes, "The donor will meet with you."

Obi-wan Kenobi nodded politely as he was led down one of the many hallways that occupied the Kamino cloning facility's main hall. He felt someone watching him and before following the graceful native, turned to look over his shoulder and saw a young boy with blue eyes and blonde hair staring at him. He seemed to be no older than when he first met Anakin, and he had three marks on either cheek. Another Kaminoan then appeared behind the boy, resting one of the four fingered hands on his white clothed shoulder.

"Come this way, Naruto," the Kaminoan said quietly, "Let's not disturb the Jedi."

"So that's a Jedi? Cool...Tousan says they can do things kinda like me..." the boy, Naruto, said, making the Jedi Knight pause in his steps before looking back to the blonde being led away. He noticed a small cylinder nearly the size of the boy's arm strapped to his back, the object being silver in color.

"Master Kenobi?" Obi-wan looked ahead to his further along guide, "Is something wrong?"

"No-no, I...I just was distracted by something I saw," Obi-wan answered politely before smiling, "Please excuse my manners."

"Understandable," the Kaminoan guide said with a smile, "Now, Master Jango Fett is waiting."

* * *

Back with the boy named Naruto, he looked up at his guide, "Hey, Kālu...Is tousan busy training the Clones?"

"No, Naruto," the Kaminoan said with a shake of his small head, "Minato is waiting for you in the training room. I was sent to fetch you when you didn't appear ten minutes ago."

"Oh...I saw a Delta-7 _Aethersprite_-class ship appear on one of the monitoring clone radars on my way to the training room and I wanted to check it out," the blonde replied with a beaming smile, "Interceptor-class ships are neat. And the _Slave-I_'s cool and all, too, but Tousan's _Hino-Ishi_ is the best!"

"I wouldn't know," the Kaminoan responded with a small smile, "You only argue with young Boba every other day over whose ship is better."

"He's gonna regret wanting the _Slave-I_," the blonde said as he laced his hands behind his head, "That thing's got nice defensive weaponry and a hell of-"

"Language Naruto," Kālu chided.

"Sorry," the blonde said sheepishly before continuing, "but anyway, the _Slave-I_ is a two-man ship at best, but Tousan's YT-1250 is the perfect ship for any Merc. Sure it was made as a transport and probably the next model will be better than Tousan's _Hino-Ishi_ for smuggling...but I think it's much better when trying to bring in the cash."

"Is that right...?"

"Yeah! The YT models are the best models out there when it comes to the Merc business."

"Your mother is rolling around in her grave cursing me, I just know it," chuckled out the man wearing white-armor of a Mandalorian as he approached the shorter blonde. Minato's armor was similar to that of the new Republic Army he was hired to train, but at the base of his white kama was a bright red flame design. His shoulder pauldron had the same design as did the chest and the lower back of his armor.

"Tousan!" Naruto exclaimed with glee as he leapt at the taller blonde, who caught him with ease. It wasn't hard for one to see where he got most of his looks, as his eyes were the same twinkling blue that his father had while the bright yellow spikey hairstyle was revealed to be genetic. If you were to ask an outsider, Naruto was just like Boba Fett; a clone with the growing genetics slowed to a halt. Kaminoans asked the same thing when they first met the duo, and after a while it really grated on Minato's nerves before he snapped and nearly killed one of the researchers.

Minato wasn't exactly one would call 'the ideal father/husband', but damn if he didn't hate Jango for just cloning himself, going about it all lazy-like. Whenever he saw his son, Minato was reminded of the beautiful redhead he met many years ago while on a job in Courscant. She died due to a complication in childbirth.

"ne, ne, Tousan!" Naruto's excited voice got the man's attention. It was hard to believe he was just now fourteen when he looked and acted like an eight year old. Again, Minato thought it was genetics.

"Yes, Naruto?" Minato asked with a grin, "What's up?"

"There's a Jedi on base! Isn't that cool?"

The color drained from Minato's face faster than one could believe. He didn't have anything against the Republic's peacekeepers, in fact, had he the pure heart they did, he'd gladly join them. No, it wasn't hate that made him pale, but fear. Not the fear of a Jedi in general, but of losing his son.

Minato quickly adjusted his grip on his son before lowering him to the ground. Kneeling, the older blonde gripped Naruto's shoulders and spoke seriously, "Go to the room, get your things, and pack. We're leaving."

"Aw, why? I don't wanna go-" "Naruto knock it off!" Minato scolded, his grip tightening as his face hardened, making Naruto's childish pout vanish and become serious. The older man looked at their Kaminoan friend, "Kālu, please get the _Ishi_ ready for a month's trip. Tell Jango that something came up."

"Of course, Minato," Kālu replied with a bow, "May I just say it's been a pleasure, and I'm sorry you have to go so soon."

Minato offered his hand as he stood, smiling when the taller being gripped it firmly, and said, "I am too. Thank you and your people for us once we go."

"Of course," the Kaminoan replied with a nod, before leaving to do as asked. Naruto looked up at his worried father.

"Hey, Tousan?" Minato looked down at his son, "Is this because of..._me_?"

Minato smiled and ruffled his son's hair, "No, Naruto. It's because of me. Go pack."

"Yes Tousan!" the blonde said before rushing off to pack his things. Minato frowned as soon as he was out of sight before following his son from afar. Naruto was a lot like his mother. _A lot_ like his mother.

Kushina, his wife and his son's mother, was a colonist born and raised on Felucia. The native tribes granted a few of the colonists their power, and Kushina was born to two Force-sensitive members of the colony. Before the Jedi came after rumors of untrained Jedi were living amongst the Felucians, Kushina's parents moved to Courscant where she managed to get a bit of training from a Padiwan she befriended. Before said Padiwan was found out and she found herself on the run from a driven recruiter. After five years of running in the city-like planet, they literally ran into each other.

After a hasty retreat, reluctant on the mercenary's part, the two left the planet. They returned to Felucia and nine months later; Ta-da, low and behold it's a boy.

Naturally, Naruto inherited his mother's connection with the Force. As best he could, Minato taught his son from age five to defend himself, with blasters, vibro-blades, and even a forged Lightsaber from a crystal the chief of the Felucian tribe had stumbled upon. With it, Naruto forged a dual edged saber at age eight. At age ten, he re-forged it so that the blades could be dual wielded. At age eleven he was well on his way to mastering his swordsmanship.

Today, he'd be learning how to run away from a Jedi Knight.

* * *

"Get the engines heated up, Naruto," Minato said urgently as he shut one of the storage panels, "We've got to go."

"Yeah, yeah..." Naruto murmured to himself as he flicked a few switches. He glanced to the left and saw Jango and Boba racing to the _Slave I_. After blinking, Naruto quickly moved to the co-pilot's seat to hit the external lights switch a few times. Boba stopped and shielded his eyes to look past the rain and see his friend sitting in his ship.

The two boys waved to each other as Minato entered the cockpit.

"What in the Hell are you doing?" Minato hissed, snapping the external lights off, "Rule Two of the Namikaze Way; don't draw attention to yourself!"

"Sorry Tousan..." Naruto apologized as he dipped his head, "I...I was just saying goodbye..."

Their attention was drawn by the sound of blaster fire and both blondes looked to see the glowing blue of a Jedi's Lightsaber deflect Jango's blasters. Minato quickly shut the engines off and killed all the internal power.

"Damn, damn, damn," Minato growled as he quickly went over his side of the controls and manually shut everything off, "Jango's job last week. Stupid! I should've known he'd been _that_ hunter the Order was looking for."

"What're you talking about Dad?" Naruto asked with a frown. Minato stopped his frantic movements and looked at his son seriously.

"Remember this Naruto," the older man told his son and protégé, "Never, and I mean NEVER, accept a job to take out a political figure, _especially_ if it's on Courscant. Rule Sixteen of the Namikaze way."

"If it's on Courscant, it's too dangerous to attempt," the boy recited with ease. The blonde man smiled and wrapped an arm around his son's head, kissing it as he brought the boy in closer.

"Good boy," the father said. The two looked back at the fight occurring not twenty meters away and Minato's eyes widened when Jango tossed the Jedi over the edge. Pulling his son into another hug, the man kept his hold tight.

"Don't look, Naruto," he said as Jango found himself following his opponent, "Don't look!"

Minutes passed before Jango popped back over the edge, rushing to the _Slave_ and entering it just as it slowly took off. Once it was only feet off the ground, the Jedi leapt back up and landed on the platform with ease.

"That's our cue," Minato said, hitting the emergency starting button of their ship as Obi-wan leapt over the edge to his docking station. The _Hino-Ishi_ roared to life, slowly lifting up and turning to the opposite direction that the _Slave_ had gone. Noting the worry on his son's face, Minato sighed before grabbing the comm.

"This is _Hino-Ishi_ to _Slave-I_," the blonde said as he directed the ship towards the sector they were going to, "Come in, Jango."

"_*zzt* Hey Minato. Where the FUCK were you when that bantha-born jumped me? I know you just sat back and enjoyed it, didn't you?_" the Mandalorian asked irritably. Minato scowled.

"Didn't call to talk to you, Jango," the man said, "Put Boba on."

"_Give me a good reason. Hm? ...Ok fine. Put your brat on. I'll deal with you later._"

Minato smiled before pulling the comm-set off his head and handing it to Naruto, "It's for you."

Naruto blinked before pulling it on, "...Boba?"

"_Naruto! Dude, did you see what that scumbag tried to do to my dad? Why didn't your dad help?_"

"Tousan...I don't know, I'll ask him. Nice job with the cannons! That was awesome! And did you see how he deflected your dad's shots! Oh, is your dad ok?"

"_...Yeah, yeah he's ok. But yeah! That was cool, the Jedi almost had Dad but I took the controls and blew him away!_"

"Ha! Yeah right!"

"_I did so! That guy's lucky we needed to go off-planet...hey where're you guys going? Dad's taking me to Genosha. Cool huh?_"

"Cool? That place is lame! It's full of freaky bug-men! Tousan's taking me to Felucia."

"_That's just as lame as Genosha! At least I'm going somewhere new; you're going back to that lame flower world!_"

As this conversation was going on, both fathers were silently laughing at their sons arguments. After five minutes, the respective 'captains' of each ship shut comms down before they made the jump to their respective planet. Naruto yawned and leaned onto his dad's shoulder, the older man smiling as he did.

"Go back to your room, Naruto," the man said softly before kissing his head, "We've got a while before we get to Felucia. Go sleep."

"...Ok, Tousan..." the boy yawned out. Standing, Naruto left his father in the cockpit as he made his way to the bed he claimed for himself. Minato sighed and looked at a holo of Kushina that was welded to the left of the pilot's seat. He smiled and lightly traced the blue face.

_I'll keep him safe, Kushi...I promise...Rule One._

* * *

**~~Five Years Later~~**

"Execute Order...66," the holograph of a hooded figure said to Commander Bly. The Clone commander nodded.

"Yes milord," the clone said with a nod. He killed the holo and looked at two other ARC Troopers, before lifting their blasters at the back of a blue skinned Twi'lek wearing skintight leather pants and a shirt that showed her toned midriff.

_Nothing personal Ma'am,_ the Commander thought as he took aim, _Just following orders..._

"I don't think so, Fett-face!" a voice exclaimed from the right, making the three clones and Jedi look in the direction the voice came from. The ARC Troopers then felt the pain of a Force push send them flying, and the familiar hum of a lightsaber made Bly realize that his target of Order 66 was on the defensive.

"Commander, hold your position-HEY!" the Jedi he was stationed under exclaimed surprise when he suddenly turned and took aim at her.

"Sorry ma'am," he said with his blaster aimed right at her, "Nothing personal."

He took the shot, which was instantly deflected by the shocked Twi'lek Jedi Knight. Bly kept his finger on the trigger and continued to take shot after shot at the backing Jedi.

"BLY!" Aayla Secura cried out in confusion, "Cease fire! Cease fire!"

"Sorry Ma'am, nothin' personal, but you're not in charge around here anymo-AAH!" he was cut off by the golden blade piercing his chest from behind. Aayla gasped and held her blade at the ready as a cloaked stranger turned his saber off, the hiss of a blade deactivating. Faster than she imagined, the stranger was in front of her and backed by two blue-skinned Felucians.

"Padiwan, Knight, or Master?" asked the cloaked stranger. She felt worry, concern, and anger radiate from the stranger that stood nearly a head taller than her. The blue skinned Twi'lek simply backed up and held her blade defensively.

"Assassin, Separatist, or Sith?" she countered with a frown. Her frown deepened as the stranger's emotions added a new one to the surface: Mirth.

"Clever," he said with what had to be a smile under the darkened cloak before he paused and his emotions changed again. He suddenly grasped his chest, revealing a tanned humanoid skin, and was braced by the Felucian on the left as he wobbled.

"No...Who are the others with you?" he asked, pushing himself up to stand in front of her again. Aayla narrowed her gaze and kept her blade at the ready.

"You never answered me," she said with a frown, "Assassin, Separatist, or Sith?"

"None of the above," he snapped, "Now where's your company? They're in danger!"

"Why, planning an ambush?" Aayla asked with a frown, "Not a chance."

"By the Force...Fine! Come, friends," the stranger said as he spun on his heel and dashed into the woods. The two Felucians followed, both running as fast as their oddly formed bodies would allow them. Aayla considered going after them but instead went to her downed Commander's side.

Bly groaned, "Ma'am...Sorry..."

"Bly, Bly what happened?" Aayla asked as she knelt next to him, "Did the Felucians overtake your mind?"

Bly laughed bitterly, before hacking into his helm. The Twi'lek carefully removed the Mandalorian designed helmet and stared into the face of one of her friends as he stared at her.

"You...You thought I was...Being controlled..." he snorted before coughing again, "I...Got the Order...Order 66...Still have it..."

Bly's right hand gripped his holstered right hand-pistol and prepared to whip it out, only to stop and resume hacking. The Jedi Knight stared in confusion as the clone regained air and looked at her apologetically.

"What's Order 66, Bly?" Aayla asked softly with a furrowed brow, "I don't remember it in the briefing..."

"Sixty-six..." Bly coughed out, "Is to be only carried out when a Jedi...attempts to assassinate the-the Supreme Chancellor..."

"WHAT?" Aayla exclaimed with wide eyes, "What...Who would try-?"

"Not finished...Shut up..." Bly coughed out, "Fading...Ma'am...Sixty-six...orders all clones...eliminate the Jedi."

No sooner did he say that, did Commander Bly breathe his last breath. After a millisecond passed, Aayla grasped her heart and fell to the side as thousands of Jedi cried out to the Force as they were gunned down. She reached into the memories and found the cause to be the Republic Army...

"No...NO!" Aayla exclaimed with wide eyes as she rushed back towards her camp, unaware of the pair of blue eyes following her.

"Let's go," the hooded stranger said to the Felucians, "We've wasted enough time as it is..."

One of the soldiers grunted to him and he winced, "No...No, I'll be fine."

* * *

Too late.

She was too late. Aayla felt rage build up within her as she came across a deceased Padiwan Zonder first. The young Padiwan was found lying face first in the dirt, holes in his back from being assassinated. Her friend and fellow Knight Bariss Offee was no more; her only remains being a scorched mark on the ground. The two other Padiwans, Ekria and Drake Lo'gann, were discovered back to back, a single cauterized round in their chests.

"Ekria...Lo'gann..." Aayla whispered out as she knelt next to them after moving them telekinetically to lie next to a face up Zonder, all their eyes closed as she gave them a Jedi's prayer next to the memorial of Offee, a simple broken lightsaber impaled into the ground through a clone's helmet.

A rock clacked across the ground and Aayla found herself on her feet facing a small group of Felucians and the mysterious Jedi/Sith that saved her before. Quietly, the cloaked stranger moved towards the dead and stopped a foot away from her left arm, bowing his head as he silently prayed.

The stranger then looked up to the sky and spoke, "I'm sorry for your loss, Aayla Secura of the Jedi Order."

The Jedi Knight went on edge instantly, scowling and activating her saber. The Felucians all readied to attack but stopped as the stranger lifted a hand. He moved that hand and the other to the side of his hood and slowly pulled it down, revealing a blonde human with three marks on either cheek. Around his forehead was a black band, keeping the long blonde locks from his face as he faced her.

Blue eyes met brown and Aayla did all she could not to blush or snap under his gaze.

"I know your name," he started, making her flinch at the sudden noise, "Only because I forced it from one of the ARC Troopers you left behind."

"Who are you?" she asked, preparing to attack or be attacked. The blonde closed his eyes and smiled softly.

"My name is Naruto Namikaze," the blonde said quietly, "I am a native of Felucia, born and raised here partially by the Shadow-Warrior Minato Namikaze."

Aayla knew the name from her master's journals. The thought of her master, Jedi Master Quinlan Vos, being gunned down...Her heart clenched and her stance wavered. A hand softly wrapped around her own, and she looked back up to the somber face of her new acquaintance.

"It's okay," he cooed softly, cautiously lowering her blade, "I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to help."

She let him deactivate her lightsaber as the wave of reality hit her. Jedi were being killed by their own Clone Troopers. The Republic's Grand Army was turning on the Republic's defenders, and she could feel every moment of it.

"Aayla..." Naruto softly said, getting her attention once again, "I'm so sorry."

The dam broke.

Tears fell down her cheeks and her knees buckled. Naruto followed the young Knight to the ground and wrapped his arms around her, allowing her to bury her face into his shoulder. The smaller yet more trained Jedi shook violently as she sobbed, but the Force-sensitive blonde simply hummed softly as she clung to him.

"Aayla," Naruto repeated softly, "It's gonna be ok..."

Aayla shuddered as she ran out of tears and looked up at the blonde, "Why...Why are you helping me? Who are you?"

Naruto smiled sadly, "A kindred spirit, one trying to atone for the sins of my father."

Aayla asked no more as she succumbed to exhaustion from her emotional and psychological trauma. Naruto tilted her back before slipping his arm under her legs. The blonde stood and looked at the Felucians gathered around them.

"Get the Padiwans' bodies," he softly ordered, "We're taking them back to camp; I fear this is just the beginning."

* * *

**AN: So begins the journey of Naruto Namikaze. What shall happen next, you will have to decide whether this story is worth the wait. For now, simply review.**

**REVIEW DAMN IT!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Damn, nearly thirty reviews in less than twenty-four hours...Not bad; could be better. But there's 1k of hits, sixty-six alerts, and fifty-seven, pardon, fifty-eight favorites. Only one reviewer mentioned a personal favorite story that inspired this, and that reviewer needs not to fret. I will not be going the same path as that story.**

**Disclaimer: Ownership of Naruto and Star Wars, I do not have. Own the plot to the story, I do. Hm? Yes...**

**A Jedi and Her Shadow**

**II**

* * *

After the Felucians had returned with the bodies and cleared the camp of any useful supplies for their human friend, Naruto had taken his guest into their 'village'. He laid the unconscious Aayla down on a bed in one of the many rooms within the large tree the Felucian tribe made their home. They called it _Mokusei_, loosely translated of course, meaning 'Spirit of the Wood' in Basic. The blonde stood and left the room, pausing to look back at the exhausted Jedi Knight.

_Aayla Secura..._ he thought before about facing and going towards the center of the tree, where the Chief and the Shaman resided. The large yellow skinned Felucian looked up at him as he approached and grunted in their language.

"Yeah, yeah...but she knows where the Empire's main bases are," Naruto replied to the irritated Shaman, "No need to worry, Old Man."

The Shaman made a few more grunts before looking at the blue skinned tribesmen carrying the deceased Padiwans in. Naruto allowed a frown to cross his face and looked up when the Chief placed a large red hand on his shoulder. The three fingered appendage squeezed reassuringly and Naruto sighed.

"Get the pit ready, Chief," the young blonde sighed, "We've got rites to deliver."

* * *

They were screaming. All of them were screaming. She couldn't help them, or make them stop. For the one time in her life where she had complete control over herself, Aayla Secura cursed the Force. Her friends; her brothers and sisters in the Jedi Order...They were all gone...In an instant.

A new dream. Not any better. Definitely worse.

"_I'm scared..."_ a voice said next to her. She was in the Jedi Council chambers, where the Fourteen Masters sat to discuss certain issues when the time came. She looked around. Younglings! They were hiding in the chambers. The door was thrown open.

Anakin Skywalker walked in, his brown hood up and hiding his face. It wasn't hard to know it was him, though. No one else radiated the amount of midichlorian that any Youngling could pick up on. Suddenly, a youngling she didn't recognize walked up to him.

"_Master Anakin! What do we do?"_ the Youngling asked in a hushed voice. Anakin's head tilted down. She got a reading of his emotions and confusion graced her features.

Anakin Skywalker was a blank slate.

No anger. No fear. No love. No Joy. No worry.

Wait...Determination?

"_It's going to be okay,"_ he lied to the Younglings. The blue lightsaber that saved so many over the course of the years suddenly hummed alive. Aayla's eyes widened.

* * *

"NO!" she exclaimed as she woke up, panting heavily. A hand lightly touched her shoulder and she looked up.

A Felucian. Blue skinned, likely a Tribesman. It cocked its head and grunted in concern.

"She's fine, friend," a familiar voice said from a doorway. The Felucian turned and stood, grunting quietly. The blonde in the doorway, Naruto Namikaze, smiled at the tribesman.

"I'll take care of it," he answered with a nod before stepping into the room and allowing the Felucian to leave. Naruto stepped in and his face took on a frown.

"The Padiwans' ceremony will be starting shortly," the blonde said softly, making her look at him with confusion, "We moved them here...so the _Clones_ won't disturb the bodies. Or their grave markers..."

She noted the anger in how he said 'clones'; and she reached for her Lightsaber only to hesitate.

"You felt them...Saw who did it, didn't you?" Naruto asked, making her look at him again. He was looking out the one window of the room at the forest, his head tilted up to look at the sky. Anger radiated from his body, but it was overshadowed by the sheer amount of melancholy that filled the room. The sorrow was quickly outdone as his fury came to the surface.

"That man...That-That mockery of a Jedi," Naruto growled, his hands clenching, "Slaughtered those poor children. Like they were whomp-rats...He didn't even _feel_ anything, Secura. Not Anger. Not Sorrow. Not even regret."

The Jedi suddenly spoke up, her own words surprising her, "Anakin didn't feel joy or accomplishment either!"

They both paused, one wondering why her own words were defensive of the butcher, while the other simply took her words in. His brow furrowed and he braced himself against the wall.

"Nothing? Like a machine..." noted the blonde before he paused and grabbed his chest, grunting in pain as he braced himself against the wall. Aayla stood in shock as the blonde released a quiet groan of anger.

After a minute, Naruto panted and leaned against the wall before looking at her, "They're searching for you, in the forests. A tribesman just took a hit to the chest."

"How do you know this?" Aayla asked quietly. Naruto looked at her before chuckling.

"I told you," he said as he righted himself, "I'm native."

He left the room silently; worry and concern radiating from his body, and Aayla found herself following him. He was standing to the left of the door to her 'room' and leaning against the wooden wall. Aayla stepped out of the door fully and gaped.

"Welcome to Mokusei," Naruto chuckled out, making her look at him with confusion, "The Spirit of the Wood, the largest home for the Tribe of Felucians. This floor is where non-Felucians rest, myself included. The bottom floor is where we'll be burying the Padiwans."

"Why are you doing this?" Aayla asked with a frown as she looked at him, the blonde looking back at her with a small smile. He remained silent and walked to the left, towards another room in the large tree. Looking back at her, he gestured for her to follow him. She did.

"Forty years ago," he started, "My mother was born to a brief attempt to colonize the wood of this planet. The Felucian Tribes welcomed her and blessed her with a connection to the force. Twenty years ago, my mother met my father on Courscant while running from the Order."

"Why would she run from the order?" Aayla asked with a confused frown. Naruto smirked and looked back at her.

"Because she wanted to be free," he said with a joking tone before continuing his tale, "Anyway, they fled back here, to her 'home-world'. Nine months later and ta-da! Here I am."

"So you grew up on Felucia," Aayla said, "That doesn't answer why you helped me. Or what sin you're trying to atone for."

Naruto's face fell into a scowl and he narrowed his eyes, the blue orbs hardening as he looked into her curious brown ones, "Five years ago, I was there when Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi came across the Grand Army of the Republic."

Aayla's eyes widened as he continued, "My father, The Shadow-Walker, was training squads of clones. He taught them our family way of life."

"Y-You're Mandalorian?" she asked with suprise, the last Mandalorian she knew had been Jango Fett...and a few of the Clones that took his training to heart.

Naruto suddenly barked out a laugh, "Hell no! If I was a Mandalorian my father would've slashed Kaasan to bits."

"The Mandalorian Wars still sting?" Aayla asked out of curiousity.

"You have no idea, some Mandalorians have connections to a rumored rogue faction against all Force-users," Naruto said with a smirk before scratching his head, "Well, anyway, Tousan taught the clones the Namikaze Way. As a Shadow-Walker family, we adopted a Mandalorian-esque way of life. The Way is our upbringing. Our family code of ethics and rules."

Aayla was intrigued by this lifestyle. The hope that he would explain it was squashed when he continued, "However, the Namikaze Clones were terminated by the Republic when they began questioning orders, acting like the Null ARC Troopers. It was a mass-murder, covered by the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine as casualties by the Separatists. My father knew why they were killed, and he told me on his deathbed."

At her curious gaze, Naruto continued gravely, "One year ago, before he died, my father was hired by Separatist generals to steal genetic plans from Kamino. He accepted the job, because he was going stir crazy here, but discovered the list of Orders. He failed the mission, purposely, and returned here to warn me. So for the past year I've been waiting for Palpatine to make his move."

"How do you-Whoa..." Aayla's jaw fell as Naruto opened the one metal door they were walking to, revealing the internal space of a ship. The blonde walked ahead of her and took his robe off. Naruto tossed the robe to the circular couch, revealing his attire. The blue-eyed blonde was dressed in armor similar to that of the clones she used to fully trust. The armor was a dark red, as was the kama around his waist, black flames adorning the edges of his kama. The chest piece was sleeveless and like the kama had black flames along the bottom going up. On the back of the armor was a black swirl. His forearms had bracers and his rounded pauldrons had the same black flames edging them.

"Now that he has, it's time to get ready," Naruto said as he started pulling his chest piece off, the Twi'lek watching him turning a darker shade of blue, "But first, we've got to give your Padiwan their last rites."

Aayla stuttered as she witnessed the blonde pull his bracers off. She felt a bit of heat under her cheeks and tried to speak up when she noticed a healed mark on his back. Tempted to ask, Aayla started to speak but was cut off when Naruto spoke, "It's a long story and we don't have time, sorry. Maybe later..."

The blonde pulled a black shirt on, the fabric clinging tightly to his toned body, before reattaching the armor where it was. Adjusting his left bracer, Naruto then looked at the now somber Twi'lek and smiled sadly.

"Let's go say goodbye," he said softly, guiding the blue skinned Jedi out of the ship as her features fell into a small depression.

* * *

"Today marks the loss of many gifted with contact to the Force," Naruto said to the gathered Felucians. Aayla was standing before the three corpses and the Shaman was standing near the pit, a torch in its hand. The blonde had a helmet tucked under his arm, unlike the clone helmet; it had only a single bar as the visor. The helmet itself was a dark red, and had a square-shape to it, similar to Scout Troopers that Aayla had seen and worked with. The mouth-portion of the mask isn't shaped like a semi-oval that the Scouts had, but etched to look like a mouth-plate with two fangs carved into it.

"Four deaths happened under our noses," the blonde said with a frown, "Today we see the Jedi Knight Bariss Offee and three Jedi Padiwans Zonder, Ekria, and Drake Lo'gann as they become one with the force. Jedi Knight Aayla Secura, a teacher and defender is with us. Knight of the Order, do you anything to add?"

Aayla looked at him with a frown of confusion, receiving an encouraging smile, before stepping forward and speaking, "Bariss Offee...Was a gentle Knight. Like many others, she didn't want to fight in this war. So rather than being a frontline specialist, she took to the medic corps. Her Padiwan, Ekria, followed her. Zonder and Drake Lo'gann...were faithfully placed under my care...And they...They..."

Naruto placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder as the tears resurfaced. Aayla succumbed to her emotions and cried. The blonde comforting the Jedi looked to the Shaman and nodded as he led Aayla away from the bodies. The yellow skinned Felucian walked forward and set the pit aflame by tossing the torch into it.

The human and Twi'lek were then graced with the gentle bass of sound that was the Felucian rites of passage, a song that the Felucians sang when one left to become part of the Force. Naruto squeezed Aayla's shoulder reassuringly, getting her to reach up and grab his hand. Neither moved; both of them watched as the three young Jedi's corpses burned away into the evening sky.

* * *

"Take care, Old Man," Naruto said a little while later, hugging the Shaman momentarily before firmly gripping his hand, "Stay hidden for a month and no more casualties should come to the Tribe."

Aayla watched curiously as Naruto said his farewells to the Tribe's leaders. She hadn't seen a human treat the Felucians like Naruto had, and when he told her his plan to return to Kamino to initiate the first of many countermeasures against the slowly rising Empire, he informed her she would be joining him. Not much of a discussion concerning it as she knew the troopers would search the planet for her until she was either dead or spotted elsewhere. The young Jedi agreed, partially because she knew he was right, and partially because she was curious about the enigmatic force-user.

The Felucian Shaman grunted, snapping Aayla from her thoughts, and the blonde smiled, his eyes closing as he did so. A peaceful wave overcame the room as Naruto's body radiated warmth. As sudden as it came, it vanished without a trace.

"Thank you for the blessing, Old Man," Naruto said, bowing to the Shaman, before turning to the slightly shorter red skinned Chief, "Farewell, Chief. Be sure to recall your brothers and the other tribes until the Empire leaves, mm?"

The Chief snorted before nodding, clapping a hand on the blonde's shoulder as he grunted. The blonde chuckled and patted the Chief on the adjacent limb, before both stood back. Naruto went to the doors of his ship, stopping only to grab the bag set outside of the docking area. The blonde looked at his apparent travelling companion with a small smile.

"Come on, Secura," he said, snapping her from her absentminded gaze at the retreating Felucian leaders, "We've got to get off-planet before the buckets get too close. _Hino_ may be the best damn ship in the Galaxy, but she's not currently equipped with a cloaking device."

"Won't our departure draw the Clones' attention?" Aayla asked with a frown. Naruto smirked as he dumped his bag on the couch where his robe still lay. The Jedi dropped her pack they had recovered when recovering the Padiwans next to his, shutting the docking bay doors before following the force-sensitive blonde to the cockpit.

Naruto sat at the pilot's seat and started the ship's main engines. He looked over his shoulder at the Twi'lek watching from the doorway and smiled, "I won't bite. You're gonna want to sit down if you don't want a concussion from take-off."

Aayla nodded and moved to the co-pilot's seat, quickly strapping herself in as Naruto resumed prepping the ship. With a final flick of a switch, the audible hiss of a docking bay detaching from something it was connected to reached their ears and a blue holo of, who had to be, Naruto's parents popped up. Aayla watched as the blonde put two fingers on the foreheads of his parents' pictures.

"Watch over us," he whispered, the words barely hitting her trained ears, before his left hand dropped to the main starter. Aayla blinked when he looked at her with a grin.

"Ever done a drive-by on a speeder?" he asked, getting a quick shake of the head no as an answer. Naruto grinned as he looked forward and continued, "Well, at least this way's more fun!"

Before she could ask what he meant, the blonde pushed the lever forward and the YT-1250 shot off at an impressive speed. The ship hadn't yet broken the sound barrier, but it had distanced itself from _Mokusei_ at an impressive rate of time. _Hino-Ishi_ quickly made a sharp turn to the left, Naruto's expert flying through the carved 'runway' making it a bit of a surprise to Aayla as she clung to her seat.

_I'm with Obi-Wan,_ the Twi'lek thought as Naruto slowly increased his speed, _Flying is for droids!_

"Don't tell me you're scared, Aayla!" the blonde chortled as his companion glared at him, "I'm not even close to the scary part yet!"

_Although I might have to restrain you during that,_ he mused as the ship broke through the tree-line and he scanned the area before spotting a CR-20 Troop Carrier. The large ship was preparing for unloading reinforcements for the remaining members of Aayla's old platoon. The blonde smirked and slowed down before pressing a few buttons on his console. Aayla watched, entranced by Naruto's mastery of multitasking without an Astromech Droid to co-pilot, as he prepped his photon cannons. Not that she knew what he was doing.

"What are you doing?" She asked, attempting to get an answer for the display of random skill he was showing.

"I'm going to shoot 'em out of the sky," Naruto calmly stated, before glancing at her cautiously, "Or should I simply leave the Tribe to the Empire's grasp...?"

"First off, stop calling it 'the Empire'," Aayla replied with a frown, getting a smirk from the blonde, and she continued as she looked at the ship, "Secondly, I never said not to do it."

"...Oh I have a feeling we're gonna get along just fine," the blonde said through a feral grin before he scowled, "Trust me, by the time we get to Kamino, you'll be calling them Empire too."

"What makes you so sure?" the Jedi countered with a frown. Naruto didn't respond and simply pressed a few more keys on his console.

"...Firing in two, one...EAT PHOTONS, ASSHOLES!" Naruto snarled as he launched the energy projectiles at the carrier. The two purple balls collided with the hull of the CR-20 troop carrier, a large explosion following it that had sent debris flying in many directions. Naruto laughed as he narrowly avoided a large chunk of metal sent flying in their direction. The blonde earning a concerned glance from his companion.

Noting the aura of unease and slight fear, Naruto looked at Aayla with a sheepish smile, "Sorry, I...I kind of like explosions...a lot..."

Aayla sighed and placed a hand on her temple, rubbing circles on it before replying, "I figured..."

Naruto shrugged the deadpanned comment off and entered coordinates into the ship's auto-drive. A holographic map of the Galaxy replaced the image of his parents and Aayla looked at him curiously.

"I thought we were going to Kamino first?" she asked. Naruto slowly nodded before putting a hand on his forehead and groaning quietly.

"Yeah...Yeah we are, but I've got a friend in need on Kashyyk..." he groaned, "Damn idiot's gonna regret making me telling him about this...Shit, I need a cup of caf."

The blonde unhooked himself once they cleared Felucia's orbit and went to the rec area. Aayla, curious, followed her apparent guide/companion as he shuffled through his cupboards, suddenly stopping as he held his head.

"Fuck!" He swore, slamming a clenched fist onto the counter as he tightly gripped his hair. Concerned, Aayla walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You ok, Naruto?" the Twi'lek asked with a frown as she got a grunt as a response, "Can I do anything?"

Naruto snorted, bracing himself on the counter with his hands as he dipped his head, "No...Just something I have to kill one of my 'friends' for getting me addicted to painkillers..."

Aayla furrowed her brows before turning the blonde around and placing a hand on either side of his face gently; making him arch a brow in confusion. Sensing his emotional state, the blue skinned woman smiled lightly at him, "You don't think Bariss...left me without teaching me a few tricks?"

He noted the hesitation concerning Bariss' mentioning, but didn't announce it as a soothing feeling went through his head. Naruto groaned in relief as the constant throbbing passed. His eyes shut and his face became one of bliss, Aayla's eyes staying locked on it as she concentrated. Before she could pass out from exhaustion, Naruto lightly grabbed her wrists and pulled them away.

"It's not your specialty, but you did better than the Old Man," he said with a smile as he opened his eyes to look at her. She blushed under the praise and smiled back.

"We're partners now, right? We have to look out for each other," Aayla replied. The blonde chuckled and released her wrists, rubbing his head slightly before clapping his hands together.

"Alright then!" he said, "Time for a pre-arrival snack. Tell me, Aayla Secura...Have you ever eaten Ramen?"

* * *

**AN: Yeah. I ended it there. What'cha gonna do 'bout it? Sue? No, no ya won't. Why? Cuz ya gonna review...Man my own painkillers are making me drowsy...meh, I think it's good considering I didn't write in TXT format...**

**Any-who...I demand that you: REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Ownership of Naruto and Star Wars, I do not have. Own the plot to the story, I do. Hm? Yes...**

**A Jedi and Her Shadow**

**III**

* * *

"You were my brother, Anakin!" Obi-Wan cried as he stared down at the near dead Sith Apprentice, "But you cast it away!"

"I _hate_ you!" the burning form of Anakin Skywalker cried out, malice lacing his words, "I...I-AGH!"

Obi-Wan, no matter how angry he was at his pupil-turned-foe, couldn't watch as he slowly caught fire on the bank of a Lava river. They had just dueled on a collapsing refinery, but the experienced Jedi Master emerged victorious. Turning his back on the screaming Sith, Obi-wan allowed one tear to escape his eyes.

_How could he have fallen?_ The Jedi mused as he rushed back towards where he and Anakin had left Padme. The woman was pregnant, and she needed immediate health assistance. Thankfully, he had a friend in Councilor Organa. Obi-Wan carefully picked Padme up before carrying her onto a ship where the trusty Astromech R2-D2 and the PA droid C-3PO awaited him. The Jedi laid Padme onto a bed before going to the controls, flying to a nearby moon that he knew would be safe.

A dark presence suddenly surrounded him and Obi-Wan gasped before spotting a Republic shuttle that was leased to the Chancellor. Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed in slight anger.

_Palpatine..._ he growled in his mind before a coughing fit coming from the nearby bed reminded him of what was most important. Obi-Wan Kenobi looked back at Padme, who was being cared for by C-3PO, and sighed heavily.

A concerned R2-D2 beeped worriedly as he approached and Obi-Wan patted the Astromech on the head reassuringly, "It'll be alright, R2."

* * *

Moments after the birth of the Skywalker twins, nearly half-way across the Galaxy, Naruto shot up from his bed, covered in sweat as he awoke. The blonde Force-sensitive pseudo-Felucian clapped a hand to his head and groaned quietly. He stood and left the bed he was in, clad in only a loose pair of pants. He paused outside the room Aayla Secura had claimed and momentarily considered informing her of Skywalker's hidden family.

Shaking the thought instantly, Naruto went to the cockpit and sat down in the pilot's seat. He flipped on several switches before activating a holo-map of the sector they were in. The blonde hummed and scratched his cheek, a habit long used as he thought.

_I hope you're ok, bud..._ Naruto thought with a frown as he took control from the auto-pilot and sped up towards Kashyyyk, _Because Chewie will kill me if you're hurt. Man, your 'brother' sure can pack a punch..._

Suddenly, a siren blared and Naruto acted quickly to silence it, looking behind him to see or sense if Aayla had been woken. The Twi'lek stirred in her sleep but didn't wake, her exhaustion of being on a soldier's sleeping schedule for the past year finally catching up with her. The blonde sighed in relief before looking at the computer's radar.

"Shit..." he swore as he looked up at the approaching Republic Destroyer, "They couldn't have known about the _Ishi_ just yet..."

A sudden beeping got his attention when a com-link opened without his approval. A clone fizzled to life on the screen and Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"_This is CC-1004 Clone Commander Gree,_" the Jango Fett lookalike said, his Bi-hawk hairstyle getting Naruto's immediate attention. The blonde remembered a few clones from his dad's unit, all of them separating themselves from the other commanders with various dyes and hairstyles.

Gree was one of them, and Naruto felt the moment that the commander had been tricked into dying for a false cause. By searching the Republic database during Aayla's recovery, he learned that some of his father's 'pupils' were 're-taught' by Palpatine-loyalist ARC troopers, Gree being one of them. When Order 66 was administered, the Clone Commander was serving under the Jedi Master Yoda.

He never stood a chance.

"Well, _Commander_," the blonde started as he kept his side of the communication, "If you are _Gree_, you'll give me proof: What is the average lifespan of a Wookie?"

"_...As I was saying, by order of the Galactic Empire-_"

"Take your orders and shove it, you imposter!" Naruto snarled, shutting the comms off before diving down towards the planet. The Republic _Venator_-class Star Destroyer couldn't follow them in the suicide dive, but they could send out several ARC-170s and V-Wings that would.

Which they did.

"FUCK!" Naruto swore when several shots missed his ship by millimeters. The blonde quickly hit a big blue button before activating a siren that roused Aayla from her sleep.

"What's going on?" the worried Twi'lek cried as she struggled to get to the co-pilot's seat.

"Oh, you know the usual," Naruto replied through gritted teeth, "Getting chased down by Empire Bastards, stuck in a suicide dive towards a slightly hostile planet, and then there's the fact that I haven't gotten my morning cup of caf..."

"How in the Force did they find us?" Aayla asked with wide eyes as she took in all the readings she was receiving. Naruto looked at her with a blank stare.

"I said we were going to Kashyyyk," he deadpanned, "_Yoda_ was at Kashyyyk. If you survived, why wouldn't that midget survive?"

Aayla sent him a glare as she fought back the blush of embarrassment due to forgetting her Master's station in the end of the Clone Wars. Naruto shook his head before turning off a few engines.

"Why are you turning them off?" Aayla asked as she strapped herself in, "Shouldn't we use them to land?"

"We're going faster than Mach 43, Secura," Naruto replied before growling as another red bolt shot past him, "AND WE'RE BEING SHOT AT! Goddamn assholes! I need to get back in control or this little side-trip isn't going to last long!"

Aayla looked ahead of them at the quickly approaching green of the Kashyyyk forests and swallowed, "Oh..."

"Yeah. Oh," Naruto repeated before closing his eyes when the ship was hit, "Well...That's just fabulous...they've managed to hit one of _Ishi_'s stabilizer engines...Alright. Let's see if this won't shake them."

Naruto grabbed a lever that was directly above him and pushed it up, grinning as an automated voice that his father installed for shits and giggles said, "_Now flushing your waste._"

"I'll never get tired of that," the blonde said with a snicker as he looked at the smirking Aayla.

The Twi'lek looked back at him and arched a brow, "Do I want to know?"

"Well...Maybe another time," he said with a smile, "Hold on."

"What for-rr-rah-AHH!" Aayla's question turned into a scream as Naruto suddenly sent the _Hino-Ishi_ barreling to the right. The blonde whooped as they spun, the chasing ARC-170s and V-Wings shooting past them and hitting allies that had tried to flank the YT-1250.

"Ya-a-a-ah-hoo! _That's_ what I call flying!" Naruto exclaimed as he began hitting switches to open panels that would slow their descent. Aayla was breathing heavily, before smacking her companion across his right arm. The blonde yelped quietly and rubbed the appendage while looking at the blue skinned Twi'lek with confusion, "What was that for?"

"You're insane!" Aayla growled, unbuckling herself from the seat and standing, leaving the cockpit in a storming manner, "Insane, suicidal, Nerf-herder!"

"Hey, I _may_ be just a tad bit crazy, but Nerf-herder is a bit harsh, don't you think?" The blonde called with a smile as the Twi'lek screamed in frustration. The blonde chuckled and looked forward, speaking quietly to himself, "And if you think I'm insane, wait till ya meet Kura."

* * *

The _Hino-Ishi_ landed in a small clearing on Kashyyyk. Naruto and Aayla stepped out of their ship, both dressed in their (as Naruto called them) battle attire, only to be surrounded by several Wookies. The animalistic warrior race had various weapons pointed at them, some being obviously handcrafted such as spears, or some not so handcrafted like the occasional EMP hand-cannon or Wookie crossbow.

Naruto and Aayla remained calm, before the former suddenly held his dual-sided Lightsaber out and activated it with a press of the button. One Wookie with a rounded head approached and lowered its crossbow. Naruto deactivated his Lightsaber just in time to be brought into a bone-crushing hug by the Wookie.

"Hey...Chewie...Long...Time!" Naruto gasped out before he was released and the 'Chewie' growled and roared to his fellow Wookies. The gathered warriors lowered their weapons and roared a greeting.

Naruto hung the dual-sided weapon on his back and rubbed his side, "Damn, Chew...It's only been a year."

Chewbacca growled at the blonde while tilting his head, making the blonde laugh sheepishly and scratch the back of his. Aayla blinked before Naruto turned towards her and held his hand towards the Wookie, "Aayla, this is Chewbacca. He's one of the best damn ship repairmen in the galaxy, one hell of a pilot, too. Chewie, meet Jedi Knight Aayla Secura, survivor of Order Sixty-Six."

Chewie looked at her in what had to be apologetic, before he gave her a more comforting Wookie hug, rather than the bone-crushing one Naruto had received. When released from the hold, Chewbacca released a guttural growl while looking at the blonde accompanying her. Naruto's face turned slightly red and he punched the Wookie in the arm.

"Shut up, Chewie!" the Shadow-Walker growled with a twitch in his eye. Aayla frowned in confusion when his emotions radiated embarrassment and anger. Chewie released the Wookie equivalent to a laugh and Naruto looked away, "Just...Just show me where the Empire's Slavery camp is."

Chewie's laughter died instantly and he grunted once in agreement, about facing and leaping to the trees. Naruto and Aayla exchanged a look before the blonde shrugged and leapt up after the Wookie, the Twi'lek following the two on the ground as she ran at intense speeds. Aayla was surprised by Naruto's skill at traveling Wookie-style, his grace at jumping across the branches like Chewbacca leaving her in a stunned silence. The questions she had at first concerning his 'Shadow-Walker' lifestyle had just multiplied, but would have to wait until they finished up on Kashyyyk.

* * *

Chewbacca and Naruto landed in front of her on a cliff, the blonde doing so quietly while the Wookie had a bit of a 'thump' upon landing. Aayla stopped smoothly just behind them. Chewbacca crouched down and gestured for them to follow him as he snuck up to the edge, the two Force-users doing so. Chewie grunted and pointed down at a steel container being moved by a crane guarded by three AT-RTs and a small squad of Clones decked out in Kashyyyk camouflaged armor.

Chewbacca quietly growled again, making Naruto look at him with a scowl, "They took _Malla_? Why didn't you tell me this sooner? I'd have double timed it if I had known that they took Malla and Kura."

"Who are Malla and Kura?" Aayla asked quietly, getting the blonde's attention.

Naruto sighed, "Malla is short for Mallatobuck, she's Chewbacca's wife and Kura, short for Kuramano, is one of my friends and the one that sent me the, uh, _message_."

Aayla nodded understandingly and looked back down at the clearing, "So what's the plan? We could easily ambush them-"

Before she could finish, Chewbacca stood and roared angrily, leaping from the cliff onto the back of the nearest AT-RT. The clone driving the vehicle was quickly thrown off and at the other AT-RT's driver. Naruto chuckled and stood, pulling the helmet he had strapped to his right hip on his head before jumping down after the enraged Wookie. Aayla sighed and rubbed her temple with two fingers.

"Why do I even bother?" she asked herself with a sigh before leaping down and landing on the crane.

Naruto sent the approaching clones away with a simple Force-push, pulling his dual-sided blade out and separating it into two separate ones, the golden blades coming to life with a hiss. The helmeted blonde quickly slashed a Clone Commando's arm off as he prepared to activate his com-link, "Ah-ah-ah! Don't go spoiling my fun now."

"Get the Jedi!" the clone screamed as he held his right arm with the left hand, "Kill him!"

"Yes, sir!" was the resulting reply as the Clones lifted their weapons and opened fire on the red and black armored man. Naruto used one blade to deflect their shots while tossing the other at the remaining driver of the third AT-RT. The Clone was pierced through the chest instantly. Naruto lifted the dying clone out of his seat before sending him flying at the attacking clones, sending them sprawling backwards.

Recalling his blade, Naruto sighed, "Too easy...How's it coming, Chew?"

Chewbacca roared back a positive sentence as he quickly took to the controls of his AT-RT. Naruto watched as he deactivated it, making the machine crouch down into a storage-like mode. The blonde walked around the mode of transportation with a hum, absentmindedly deflecting a shot back at the shooter and killing said clone instantly, before looking at the Wookie, "Any chance you can get one of these back to the _Hino-Ishi_?"

"Naruto!" Aayla suddenly called as she landed on the roof of the steel crate. The helmeted blonde looked up and holstered his two blades, readying himself as Aayla cut the chains holding the crate up. Using the Force, the two carefully landed the crate on the ground and cut the steel wall open. After the wall fell, a shorter Wookie walked out with two others, the shorter one quickly being embraced by a happy Chewbacca.

Mallatobuck hugged the Wookie back before turning to Naruto. Naruto's shoulders slumped as he accepted his fate and was crushed again by the Wookie bear-hug. Gasping under his helmet, Naruto greeted the female Wookie, "Hey...Malla...Been a while, huh?"

Malla put Naruto down and growled happily to him, making the blonde chuckle. She noticed the blue skinned Twi'lek and looked to her husband. Chewbacca released an amused growl, making Malla release a happy aura, while Naruto's face turned red and he released pure embarrassment, confusing Aayla immensely before the blonde shouted, "For the last time, she's _not_ my mate, dammit!"

Aayla's cheeks turned purple as she blushed and looked away in embarrassment. Naruto grumbled to himself, storming over to the deceased Clone Commando's corpse, and pulling a chord out to connect his HUD with the commando's. As his interface downloaded the files concerning captured Wookies, Naruto glanced over to Aayla.

_Dammit...Stupid Chewbacca..._thought the Shadow-Walker with a frown on his hidden face, _He knows me to damn well sometimes...Still, I'd be lying if she didn't have a nice body...Oh, force me! I did NOT just think that!_

Aayla looked over at the crouching mercenary when a wave of embarrassment and self-anger radiated from him. The empathic Twi'lek tilted her head, _What could have gotten him so flustered? Was it...Their insinuations?_

A small blush overcame her face as she thought about Chewbacca's apparent idea of their relationship. A bigger blush came to her face as she realized what she had just thought, _No! I do not have a relationship with him...J-Just an, um, just an acquaintance. Besides, I'm a Jedi Knight, and it's forbidden...Why do I feel so depressed while thinking that?_

As the two unknowingly thought about their current standing with the other, Naruto's helmet finished downloading the files he had searched for and opened in his HUD. The blonde merc jumped at the surprising amount of info before standing and removing his helmet.

"Whoa, damn..." Naruto groaned as he shook his head to clear it of the slight pain from the influx of information suddenly popping up on his HUD. The gathered Wookies and Aayla looked at him as he rubbed his head, before Malla growled in concern to him.

"I'm fine, Malla," Naruto said after a moment before he gasped and reached for his chest, "Shit...Force me! That was stupid..."

"You alright, Naruto?" Aayla asked as she knelt next to him and helped him stand, placing his arm around her shoulders to steady him.

"Yeah...Ugh, Kura was just trying to tell me to hurry up..." the blonde muttered as he held his chest, "Thanks..."

"No problem," replied the Twi'lek as she removed his arm from her shoulders. Naruto cracked his neck before bending over to reclaim his helmet. Pulling it on, he then looked to the four Wookies.

"Chewie, get them back to the Tribe. Aayla and I can get Kura out, ok?" he asked with a slight tilt. Chewie released a quiet growl of reluctant acknowledgement, making Naruto smile beneath his helmet, "Thanks...Oh, can you have one of the AT-RTs put in the _Ishi_?"

Chewie nodded and walked Malla over to the one he had deactivated it, settling himself on it before helping her on behind him. The two other Wookies took to the trees and raced back towards the Wookie Tribe. The AT-RT occupied by two Wookies stomped off after them, Naruto chuckling as it went.

"You'll never see a stranger sight than a Wookie riding an AT-RT..." he said to a smiling Aayla, who nodded in agreement. The two then ran towards the constructing Empire base, intent on rescuing the Wookie known as Kuramano.

* * *

Naruto released the head of the Clone he had killed quietly, before looking at Aayla as she slowly lowered the unconscious clone to the ground. He pursed his lips in momentarily concern for her, before looking down from the watchtower they had hijacked.

"Was that necessary?" she asked, obviously referring to the dead clone whose head was backwards.

Naruto turned his covered head to look at her with his visor, their eyes meeting so to speak, before he answered, "Yes. Unlike sleeping beauty, mine won't take the time to warn anyone in the case he wakes up."

Aayla frowned at his logic, "Still, we shouldn't have to kill them."

He fought the urge to bring Order 66 into it, and instead replied with, "No, you're right. Let's leave as many as we can alive so getting out with Kura is twice as hard."

Aayla scowled, "What crawled in your ass and died?"

_Didn't expect that comeback from a Jedi,_ he mused in amusement before looking at her again, "One; these clones have just imprisoned one of my friends. Two; they're _clones_ that are _loyal_ to the Empire. And Three; Rule number One."

"The clones imprisoned your friend?" Aayla asked again out of confusion. Naruto sighed before removing his helmet and looking at her. Quietly, he explained himself.

"Rule number One of the Namikaze Way; Always protect your precious people."

Aayla's eyebrows shot up in astonishment and Naruto continued, "Another description of Rule number One is; Always keep your word."

"Why?" she asked. Naruto looked at her from the corner of his eyes as a smile crossed his face.

"Why not?" he countered. The Twi'lek stunned into silence, he quickly continued, "Ok, Kura's cage is cell G-13. We're right outside the G cell block. The second we bust him out, all the clones are gonna come running."

"Yeah..."

"So while I make a distraction, I want you to take the command post of cell block G," he said as he pulled his helmet back on. He pulled a small earpiece out of one of his back pockets and held it out to her, "This is to keep in contact. Don't lose it."

After she took it and placed it over her ear, Naruto placed a necklace on her, making her freeze in place. At her bewildered face, Naruto chuckled, "Don't look to deep into it. It's to inform Kura that you're with me."

"O-Oh, right," the Jedi replied, looking away to the command center of the cell block. There were maybe three guards in the room, plus an unseen two she would have to keep in mind. With a whisper, Aayla asked, "What's your plan?"

After a moment of silence, the Twi'lek looked to her right to see...nothing? A sudden yell made her look to the left, near cell block D's entrance, and Naruto was engaging a large amount of clones with only his lightsabers. Aayla shook her head and sighed before rushing towards her objective.

* * *

She came across little resistance, due to Naruto's distraction, and in no time she had released the few being held in cell block G. The Jedi knight leapt down, wading through the Wookies while asking, "Kuramano? Where's Kuramano?"

A dark red furred hand suddenly grabbed her arm and she looked up at a seven and a half-foot tall Wookie. It had a scar going over its left eye and its left eye was devoid of any sign of use. Swallowing the sudden lump in her throat, Aayla said, "Kuramano?"

The Wookie tilted his head and his grip tightened as he radiated suspicion. She grabbed the necklace and held it up, making the red furred Wookie blink before releasing her. He roared loudly to the other Wookies, who roared in return, before looking at her and nodding.

A scream got the attention of the two, and a clone trooper with a slash mark on his back landed in front of them, followed shortly by Naruto's landing. He looked up and nodded at Secura before looking at the Wookie, "Hey Kura!"

* * *

**AN: And so Kuramano has been rescued. But will they escape Kashyyyk? Guess you'll have to wait and see.**

**Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Ownership of Naruto and Star Wars, I do not have. Own the plot to the story, I do. Hm? Yes...**

**A Jedi and Her Shadow**

**IV**

* * *

"Owen Lars?" a hooded man asked as a brown haired man stepped out of a stone hut, wiping his hands on a rag. Owen squinted as the man's face was hidden by the rising red sun of Tatooine, his eyes still adjusting to the light.

"Yeah, who's asking?" asked the young farmer, his wife walking up to him from behind. The hooded man presented a small bundle, getting wide eyes as a quiet babe looked up from the bundle of cloth it was wrapped in. Owen's wife, Beru, carefully took the child from the hooded man.

The man then took the hood off and led Owen away, speaking quietly, "Owen...Your brother is dead."

Owen blinked several times before asking in confusion, "What?"

"Anakin Skywalker is dead," the robed man said quietly, grabbing Owen's right shoulder, "That child is his son, Luke Skywalker."

"Anakin's dead?" Owen repeated with wide eyes. The man nodded solemnly, the sun lighting his blue eyes and reflecting the sorrow within them. He had short light brown hair and a thick beard of the same color...Making him one of the last remaining Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"Yes," Obi-Wan replied with a frown, "He's died. You need to raise his son."

"It's the least I could do," Owen said after a moment, before looking at the Jedi with a furrowed brow, "Have we met?"

"Hm? Us? No, no...I was a...A friend of your brother's..." Obi-Wan said looking to the rising suns, "If you ever need me...I will know."

With his mysterious message left in the mind of Owen Lars, Obi-Wan Kenobi left to begin his self-induced exile. The middle age farmer followed the Jedi with his eyes for a minute before the cries of his nephew echoed in his ears. Lars trekked back towards his home where his wife comforted his nephew before glancing back once to the sky.

_Anakin..._

* * *

A mechanical breathing echoed around him as he strolled through the cruiser, being followed by his trusted commander of the 501st Legion, CT-7567 aka Rex. The black leather and mechanical suit that kept him alive clung to his torched nerves, his muscle tone not having been diminished by his dip in the lava pools. Rex still wore his Republic issued uniform, mostly due to the fact that the Imperial uniforms hadn't been processed fully.

The bald clone trooper looked to his leader with a serious grimace on his face, "We've lost Kenobi, Lord Vader."

Vader mulled over this for a moment before waving it off, "He's but one man...If I must, I'll bring him to his knees like Dooku."

"You don't want us to deal with him immediately?" Rex questioned, "I mean, if you'll allow me, I could gather a squad and hunt him like the dog he is."

Vader couldn't resist the smirk at his loyal friend's growl. Although part of him felt guilty over the clone's submissive nature, most of Darth Vader was utterly pleased that _his_ troopers weren't being reassigned to other legions. A bit of a boost to the ego, if he were asked before the burning of his body.

As he walked, Vader's mechanical breathing intimidated the crewmen of the Republic (now Imperial) Cruiser as he walked the halls with the white and blue armored leader of the Five-Oh-First. They entered the main observation deck and went to observe the construction of the Empire's soon to be feared weapon; the Death Star.

"Magnificent, isn't it, Rex?" Vader asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes it is, Sir," the clone replied with a nod as a proud smile crossed his face before it fell, "...I...Have one more thing to tell you, Sir."

"Oh?"

"Ahsoka Tano was not listed as exterminated, Sir," the clone said, swallowing afterwards. He wasn't sure if his superior would be pleased or angered at the surviving of his student.

Darth Vader didn't reply, and other than his mechanical breathing, there was no other sound. The Sith lord felt conflict within him once again. On one hand, his pupil...a young woman that he had taken a small fatherly bond to, had lived through the Clone Wars. On the other, however, she was still a Jedi, and as such, she was his enemy. Only time would tell as to how this would play out.

"...Prepare to return to Courscant, Rex," was all that the Dark Lord said as he about faced and left the observation deck. Rex pressed his feet together and saluted the vacating Sith.

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

"How did we get into this mess?" Naruto thought as he, Kuramano and Aayla Secura were backed into a corner by a large, hostile Rancor that was currently attempting to grab one of them. It stood nearly twenty-five feet tall and had two large bottom tusks jutting out from its mouth. The red furred Wookie had taken the defensive stance before the Jedi and the blonde pseudo-Felucian. The blue skinned Twi'lek glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"Did you seriously just ask that?" she growled to the blonde who rolled his eyes. After reuniting with them, Naruto had the _brilliant_ idea to sneak out of the prison through the back. However, the commander of the prison activated a trapdoor that had dropped them into the hidden R block beneath the surface. Right into this bull Rancor's cell to be exact.

"Oh, yeah, because I _knew_ the Empire had decided to bring Rancors to Kashyyyk off Felucia and Tatooine, stored them about fifteen meters underground, but I just forgot to remind you," the blonde spat back before shoving the Wookie out of his way. Kuramano roared in protest while Aayla grabbed the Wookie's arm in an effort to hold him back.

Naruto whistled loudly to get the furious bull's attention, "Oi! Bantha Breath! Look down here! FRESH MEAT!"

The Rancor glared down at the loud blonde that was making come-hither gestures with both hands. Aayla's grip on the red furred Wookie faltered greatly when the Rancor easily took the blonde in his mouth. Kuramano roared in despair while the Twi'lek tried to come to terms with what she had just witnessed.

The Rancor bull roared loudly and took one step towards the two disbelieving escapees when a sudden golden blade shot out of the large carnivore's left eye. The Rancor roared in pain and stumbled backwards, swiping at an invisible foe while the blade carved itself out. Covered in saliva, Naruto crawled out of the cauterized gaping hole in the side of the carnivore's head.

Dropping next to his friend, Naruto looked at the Wookie and said, "Remind me never to do that again..."

Kuramano roared in agreement as the Rancor Bull fell to its back; unconscious from the wound it was given. Aayla stared in shock at the slime covered blonde as he laughed at something the Wookie grunted to him. Walking to the blonde as he wiped the Rancor's saliva from his face, she stood a foot away from him when he looked at her.

_SMACK!_

"Ow!" Naruto yelped as he rubbed his now red jaw. He looked at Aayla in confusion and the Twi'lek simply glared at him, prompting him to ask, "What the Hell was that for?"

"What were you thinking?" Aayla asked with a scowl, "Do you know how reckless that was?"

Kuramano chuckled and grunted something to the blonde, making said blonde elbow the Wookie in the side, "Shut it, Kura!"

Looking back at the blue skinned Twi'lek, Naruto said, "Yeah, but how else were we gonna get out of here? And hey, I didn't kill it just for you."

The Jedi frowned and walked towards the doorway, her companions following her. Naruto and Kuramano exchanged a glance before the Wookie roared something to the Shadow-Walker. Slightly flushed, Naruto stormed away after Aayla, grumbling under his breath, "She's not my mate, dammit..."

* * *

Naruto activated his blade and decapitated the clone standing guard outside of Cell block N. He looked back to his two companions and quietly gestured for them to follow. Kuramano, who had picked up the clone's DC-15A blaster rifle, grumbled quietly and followed whilst Aayla Secura shook her head at the, in her eyes, unnecessary death. The Shadow-Walker held a hand up as a small squad ran past them towards the cell block they were last spotted in.

"Ok, we're clear," Naruto whispered, ducking down the corridor towards the open doorway the revealed a good fifteen foot clearing to the forest line, "At three, we run."

Kuramano roared quietly while Aayla said with a smirk, "Oh so now we make a plan...?"

"Bite me, Secura," the helmeted blonde shot back, before pointing at the red-furred Wookie as he opened his mouth, "And don't even say it, Kura!"

"Look, there he is!" a voice called from the other direction. The three looked to see a lone trooper pointing in their direction before Kuramano shot him down. Naruto backhanded the Wookie in the shoulder.

"What the hell are you thinking?" hissed the helmeted blonde. The sound of approaching footsteps made him groan and look at the Wookie and Twi'lek, "THREE!"

At his cry, the three ran from the corner they were pressed against and towards the doorway. Naruto fell back and activated his dual-bladed weapon, running backwards as he deflected several blasts. When Kuramano and Aayla turned to look at him, the merc shouted, "Keep running! I'll catch up!"

"What are you, crazy-HEY!" Aayla's comeback was cut off as Kuramano slung his rifle on one shoulder while picking up the blue skinned Twi'lek and throwing her over the other. Kura ran faster and Aayla struggled in the Wookie's grip.

"Keep going, Kura! I'm right behind ya!" Naruto called from where he was deflecting blasts. Once the two had made it to the forest, Naruto came to a stop and faced the doors. The clones slowed after him and took positions to fire.

"By order of the Empire, put your hands behind your head and get on your knees! This is your only warning!" the apparent commander cried as more troopers approached. Naruto smirked beneath his helmet and deactivated his lightsaber. He holstered it to his back before holding both hands up.

"...On your knees!" the trooper ordered after recovering from his surprise. Naruto chuckled, but rather than fall to his knees, he threw his hands back and ripped two trees from the ground with the Force. As the Troopers began firing on him, he tossed the trees at the building, both colliding with each other and slamming into the doorway, crushing the clones that were aiming at him.

"Yes! Thank the Force for the almighty logs!" the merc exclaimed with an unseen grin as he pumped his fist before dashing into the woods, "Hey guys! Wait up!"

* * *

At the Wookie settlement, Kuramano was saying his farewells to some Wookies while Naruto prepared the _Hino-Ishi_ with Aayla's assistance. Naruto was stocking the storage units while the Twi'lek was checking the coordinates that they would be doing. A sudden blip on the ship's main computer screen got her attention and, with concern, she called out, "Uh, Naruto?"

"Yeah?" Naruto called back from his spot in the storage unit, lightly dusting off the new AT-RT he had stored away. He was amazed that Chewbacca had actually managed to get the reconnaissance vehicle stored away without damaging either the ship or the AT-RT.

"You might want to come look at this!" the alarmed voice of Aayla Secura called back, worry following her words. The blonde sighed and ran the back of his bare arm across his sweaty forehead.

"Yeah! Be there in a flash!" he replied with a chuckle as he recalled his father's notable teleporting trick that normally followed that statement. He still hadn't figured out how his dad had done it, damn asshole left him with clues and hints, but he will soon enough. With a sigh, Naruto reached up and gripped either edge of the storage unit he was in, pulling himself out of the unit with a small grunt of strain. The blonde went over to the Twi'lek where she was taking in readings, leaning over her shoulder.

"What's going on?" he asked, not noticing the jump of shock the Jedi had given at his 'sudden' appearance. Naruto scanned the data coming from the HoloNet and whistled, "Damn...I take a pretty good picture!"

He chuckled as Aayla gave him a disbelieving look while the screen showed a picture that one of the troopers had taken with their helmet's HUDs when he was buying time for them to escape. His helmet was on, meaning whenever he went to get a job, he would have to be careful. The headline read, "_Sympathizer to Jedi Assassins! Be on Watch for Rebel Scum!_"

"Rebel Scum...I've been called worse," shrugged off the blonde as he read the paragraph. He snorted when he came across the line '_...Associated with Jedi Aayla Secura, possibly following her commands and planning for another attempt on our beloved Emperor's life..._'

"Well, it's official," Naruto sighed out as he shut the HoloNet off and looked at Secura, "The Jedi are now in the same bank as your everyday terrorist. Sorry, Secura. You're stuck with me for a bit."

"Oh, joy..." Aayla sighed out as she stood, heading towards the refresher, "I'm going to go hit the fresh."

"Alright," Naruto replied as he took her spot and checked the computer again, "We're taking off soon, so be out by then. I don't doubt that Chewie may want to wish you farewell, being the loveable fur-ball that he is..."

Aayla giggled and shook her head, her lekku instinctively curling over her shoulders as she entered the refresher and shut the door to not be disturbed while she stripped. Once finished and in the center of the sonic shower, Aayla sighed in relief as the low-pitched sonics washed over her body, cleaning it of the grime that had been gathering for the past few days. The blue skinned Twi'lek leaned back against the shower wall, relishing in the relaxing sonics, before suddenly thinking of the first alert that she had initially called Naruto about.

_Stupid tabloids..._Aayla thought as heat rushed to her cheeks and she ran her hands over her right lek, assisting the shower by gently swiping the grime off, _making insinuations that I'd...I'd abandon the Order for him of all things...I mean, sure he's nice...and strong...and...attractive-Oh Force me, why did I have to think that?_

Aayla bit her lip as she fought down her arousal, her years training in the Jedi Order assisting her as she fought her release. She wasn't completely ignorant to the other gender, having to work alongside well-groomed/toned men and women alike in her time as a Jedi Knight and Padawan. She had naughty dreams from time to time, as did other female and male Jedi, but like them, she pushed her immoral cravings aside with the help of meditation. But working alongside someone who wasn't a Jedi or Clone, and had one _hell_ of a body that she had seen more than she would've liked (comfort wise anyway; her instincts loved every glance), was wearing down on her control.

Aayla's lip started to bleed due to the pressure she was putting on it, breaking her from her pleasure as pain came to the front of her mind. With a groan of relief, the blue skinned Twi'lek rolled her head back, allowing it to connect with the shower wall with a small thump.

"That was too close..." she mused to herself as the shower slowly came to an end, "Much, much too close..."

* * *

While Aayla was having difficulties with her 'cravings', Naruto was attempting to fix the blasted stabilizer engine that had been shot before their landing with Kuramano's help.

"Ok, give me that small cylinder-thingy," the blonde directed as he sat atop the engine with a screwdriver in hand, pointing at a small piece of metal that Chewbacca had managed to gather from the two other AT-RTs. Kuramano growled quietly in a questioning manner and Naruto dragged his free hand down his face.

"Ugh, where's Chewie when you need him? No! Not that!" Naruto scolded the Wookie holding a small coupling up to him, "That's not what I need, Kura! The thing next to it...On the right! There you go!"

Getting the item he was asking for, Naruto sighed in relief. "Thanks..." he murmured as he slipped the cylinder into position and screwed it in place. He then used his screwdriver to check the gap between the cylinder and the covering of the engine. With a grin he looked at the red-furred Wookie, "That should do it! Thanks for the help, Kura!"

Kuramano released a quieted roar in reply, making Naruto chuckle as he dropped to the ground. The blonde had ditched his merc armor and was wearing black slacks and a white shirt, the combat sandals he loved to wear still on his feet, deciding to be relaxed as they prepared before going to Kamino. A young Wookie, a lighter brown than Chewbacca, ran up and grunted to the blonde, holding out a DC-15S blaster in both hands, tilting its head as it growled out a question.

Naruto arched a brow and crossed his arms, "Did Chewie okay this?"

The young Wookie nodded excitedly and Naruto sighed as he scratched his head, taking the blaster. The Wookie ran back towards a gathered group, Chewbacca being among them, and he chuckled before following. Kuramano grabbed the DC-15A rifle that was held out to him, both of them taking aim at Clone helmets that were impaled a few meters away in a modified shooting range.

Kuramano roared challengingly to the blonde and he grinned back, "You're on! First one to knock their chosen helmet off and put five rounds in it gets their shift covered!"

Kuramano roared again and Naruto scowled, "No, the loser cannot rip an arm off..."

Chewbacca roared his own comment in and Naruto flushed while a few Wookies laughed. The blonde's eye twitched in irritation before he growled out, "I told you...Secura isn't my mate!"

The red furred Wookie rumbled something that elected more laughter from his fellow Wookies. Naruto pointed his blaster in his friend's direction, "Oi! She ain't making me sleep on the couch! I've got my own bed, thanks!"

This only made the Wookies laugh harder as they misinterpreted his words into meaning he had a 'back-up' bed. Naruto threw his hands up in defeat.

"Just meet me on the damned targeting range, ya giant red fuzz-ball!" he grumbled out as he walked towards the range followed by a few excited Wookie younglings. Kura and Chewie shared an amused glance before following the upset blonde at a reasonable distance.

A Wookie he was not, but the blonde was still dangerous when in the right (or wrong) mood.

* * *

Aayla averted her eyes when Naruto stormed onto the ship, his body radiating embarrassment and anger. An amused Kura followed the blonde on board, releasing a small chuckle as the blonde snapped a glare back at him.

"Thanks for saving me from the Malla Death Hug, ya fuzzy bastard..." Naruto growled, electing another round of chuckles from the Wookie. He glanced at the blue skinned Twi'lek and arched a brow when he noticed her avoiding eye contact, "Oi, Secura...You ok?"

"Hm?" Aayla asked as she looked up before nodding, "Oh, yes...Yes I'm fine."

"Good," Naruto replied with a nod and a smile, "Can't have you being in a funk like me, we'd never get anything done...Gah!"

Naruto dropped to his knees and grabbed his head, groaning in pain as he was struck by another episode. Kura crouched down next to him in concern as did Aayla before she took his head in her hands and performed another healing session on him.

Naruto's eyes went from squeezed shut to a relaxed closed before he slowly dropped to his side in unconsciousness. Concerned she had done something wrong, Aayla began to try and wake him by jostling his shoulder, only to be stopped by the Wookie. Kura growled something in a reassuring tone, but his emotions said enough for her.

Kuramano was releasing concern, thankfulness, and a bit of joy at seeing his friend sleeping calmly, Aayla releasing a sigh of relief as the captain of their vessel was picked up by the Wookie. She followed Kura to Naruto's room, watching as the red furred being carefully lowered him on the bed, before they both left and went to the cockpit with a silent understanding between them.

"Let's go then, Kuramano," Aayla said quietly as she took the co-pilot's seat and began starting the ship's engines, "I doubt Naruto will want us to wait for him to wake up."

Kuramano roared his agreement and slowly lifted the _Hino-Ishi_ up before directing the ship towards Kamino's location in the Galaxy. The Wookies below watched and waved as the YT-1250 shot out of the planet's atmosphere.

* * *

**AN: And so ends our time on Kashyyyk. Luke has been given to the Lars', Vader's learned of his apprentice's survival, and Naruto has passed out from his pain. What could be next for our heroes?**

**Guess we'll find out.**

**REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Ownership of Naruto and Star Wars, I do not have. Own the plot to the story, I do. Hmm? Yes...**

**A Jedi and Her Shadow**

**V**

* * *

"Is it ready?" a feminine voice asked softly. After a sudden clacking of outdated computer controls, a pinging began to fill the abandoned mine that had become a base for refugees of Order 66.

"The message is being sent as we speak, Master," a deep voice replied.

"Excellent..." the first voice said with an unseen smirk, "We shall rid the Galaxy of the Empire and restore the Jedi Order. May the Force be with us."

* * *

Aboard the Imperial Cruiser of the 501st legion, Rex walked with squared shoulders and a scowl on his face. He had just received important information concerning his superior's mission to eradicate the remaining Jedi from the Galaxy. Rex stopped outside of Darth Vader's personal chambers and took a deep breath. Since his 'awakening' (as the Sith called it), Vader hadn't shown any of the previous characteristics that Anakin Skywalker once displayed; save for the anger in his stance.

The clone shook the thought from his mind and out determination back on his face. He raised a fist to knock, but before his knuckles connected with the metallic door, said object hissed as it opened, revealing the back of his superior and friend seated in a large black throne, his lightsaber hovering in front of him without a sound.

Aside from Vader's respiration breathing, there was no sound as the dark lord calmly meditated. Rex remained where he was, lowering his hand and standing at attention until the Sith verbally acknowledged him. The small weapon hovering in front of Vader dropped to the extended hand slowly, the leather fist closing around it and slipping it into his side. The dark dome head turned slightly over the left shoulder and Rex swore he could feel the eyes of his commander locked onto his position.

"Yes, Rex?" Calmly asked the Emperor's Apprentice. The clone commander straightened and entered the room.

"Sir! We've discovered a message claimed to be sent by Kenobi!" Rex said urgently, making the unseen eyes of the Sith widen beneath his protective mask.

Vader's throne slowly rotated so that the seated Sith Lord was facing his subordinate, the former Jedi Knight interlacing his fingers and leaning forward slightly, asking, "And?"

"It's addressed to the survivors of Order 66, milord," the clone continued before offering the report, which was snatched from him by the Force, being gripped firmly by the Sith within a split-second, "Kenobi's ordering a regroup and counterattack on the Emperor."

Vader's breathing filled the room for a brief moment before he spoke again, "Kenobi didn't send this...You know that, Rex."

"...I do, Sir," the commander confirmed as he nodded grimly, "Permission to speak freely?"

"I'll allow it."

"Thank you, Lord Vader," Rex bowed as he thanked the cyborg before speaking again with arms crossed over his chest, "I believe someone's trying to get your attention. Kenobi, the traitor that he is, wasn't stupid enough to try to fight back."

"Indeed," Vader mused, standing from his chair and walking to the commander, "My former master believed too much in diplomacy, preferring words rather than actions. A noble ideal, but it was also foolish. Kenobi wouldn't dare try this, as it would endanger everyone he managed to contact. Trace this back to its source, we have a trap to spring."

"At once, Milord," Rex said with a nod before vacating the room. Vader walked to his window overlooking the construction of his personal battle cruiser, designed to be large enough to hold three fleets. He was planning on calling it the _Imperical_, a name that would strike fear into any of the Emperor's foes. Beneath his helmet, the tactical and angry mind of Darth Vader worked overtime to consider who would be foolish enough to try and lure him out...

* * *

"I say, where _are_ you taking me?" a protocol droid asked as two of the Alderaanian soldiers aboard the _Tantive IV_ led it to a separate room. The droid's small companion, a blue and white Astromech Droid beeped in concern and began following the droid, only to be stopped by a tanned man wearing royal blue attire. He had slicked back black hair and in his arms was a white bundle, a crying infant within.

"I'm sorry, R2-D2," the man, Bail Organa, said, "But he's a security risk. We can't have the Emperor learning of Leia or Luke's existence. You, however, have superior defense protocols. I ask you, R2, would you help me protect my daughter by leaving your associate ignorant?"

The Astromech was silent before it whirred sadly a response, earning a pat on the head from the Captain of the _Tantive IV_, Raymus Antilles. The captain looked at the senator with a grim smile, "I'll take him from here, Mr. Organa."

"Thank you Captain," Bail replied with a nod before retreating to his personal cabin within the diplomatic ship, attempting to hush his adoptive daughter with soft coos. The Captain looked down at the depressed droid and a small smile crossed his face.

"Come on, R2," Antilles said as he about faced and moved towards the command center, "Let's see if we can't synchronize you to the _Tantive_."

* * *

Naruto groaned as he slowly sat up, holding his head with one hand. Out of habit, he reached for something on the desk next to him and after a moment, realized he wouldn't find anything. The blonde rubbed his head with both hands.

"Goddamn engspice..." he grumbled as a shudder went down his spine, "had to be so damn addicting and that damn Hutt had to be addicted to it...Stupid assassination job..."

Slipping out of bed, Naruto stood and went towards the refresher. He looked at his face in the mirror before turning the faucet on and wetting his hands, using the damp appendages to wipe the sleep from his eyes. The blonde warrior sighed and stared at his reddened eyes, small bags beginning to appear once again.

"Force me..." he groaned out, pinching the bridge of his nose, "That damn addiction's gonna get me killed..."

Naruto shook his head and began undressing. He stepped into the shower, turning the sonic jets on and released a small sound of relief as the dirt was literally vibrated off of his body. His mind drifted to the dark ripple that was echoing through the Force. Naruto's fists clenched when he focused on the source of the ripple, resting on his forearms on the wall of the shower as he begrudgingly focused on the slaughter going on billions of miles away.

* * *

_Darth Vader slashed another Jedi down as he leapt. The Sith lord's mechanical breathing being calm and collected as he casually slaughtered the small band of Jedi that tried to jump him within an abandoned spice mine._

"_Your evil ends today, Sith Scum!" cried out another Jedi that rushed Darth Vader. The Sith merely sent a large Push in the Jedi's direction, catching the Jedi off guard and sending him flying into the wall._

"_Pathetic..." deadpanned Vader, a hidden scowl marring his face. Another Jedi roared in fury and sent a Force Push of his own at the Emperor's Apprentice. Vader backhanded the attack, sending it back to it's creator at ten-times the velocity._

"_Where is your leader?" Asked the Sith Lord as he caught the last Jedi in an open hand, choking the woman easily, "Answer me, Wench!"_

"_G-Go to Hell..." the Jedi gasped out before being thrown away, making a large impact in the wall of the mine, being crushed by the rocks that fell atop her afterwards. Vader looked around the opening and deactivated his lightsaber, the weapon hissing as it was shut off. Holstering the tool, Vader put his fists on his hips as he looked at the dead Jedi analytically._

"_I was wondering when you'd come out," he said when he sidestepped an attempted slash by a green blade, "Tell me, do _you_ know of Obi-wan Kenobi's location? If you do, your death will be quick and painless."_

_Shadday Potkin growled and quickly swung upwards, "You're a fool, Vader! I used Kenobi's name to lure you here!"_

"_I know," the Sith said as he activated his lightsaber once again to block the strike, "Your plan was painstakingly obvious from the get-go, Potkin."_

"_You could have been great, Skywalker..." growled the Jedi as she struggled against the superior warrior's strength, "No, you could have been magnificent."_

"_Your words have no meaning," Vader stated with a growl, "Anakin Skywalker is dead. I killed him personally."_

"_No, Sidious killed Skywalker and you simply took his place!" shot back Shadday before she leapt away and pulled another weapon out, "This will be the day Darth Vader falls and the beginning of the end of the Empire!"_

"_You're a fool, Potkin," snarled the cyborg Sith Lord as he reappeared in front of her with his weapon drawn back, "Die!"_

"_Never!" Potkin shot back as she blocked the attack with a cortosis sword. Vader's hidden eyes widened as his weapon fizzled before deactivating, and he released a small cry of pain when the Jedi impaled him in the side with the weapon._

_Vader leapt up to a higher platform to lick his wound so to say, but Shadday pressed on, leaping after him and slashing at him again._

_Vader stepped to the side to avoid the strike and sent her back with a Push. Potkin smirked as she landed on the opposite platform while Vader's breathing became akin to a pant._

"_My cortosis sword is the future weapon of the Jedi, Vader," the Jedi stated as she sneered at the wounded Sith, "We shall use this to counter any and all Sith that dare stand in the way of peace!"_

"_And you...call me...the fool?" Vader breathed out before lifting his right hand up, extending his fingers. Shadday Potkin's eyes widened as she was brought to the Sith's hand, the appendage tightening around her neck and cutting off her air supply._

"_Since my weapon is useless, I will have to use yours," Vader said once he regained his breath, taking the sword from Potkin before snapping her neck and tossing her to the floor of the mine. Vader examined the new weapon before tossing it at a slowly rising Jedi, impaling the poor man through the chest and killing him instantly._

_Leaving the mine, Vader looked to his clone commander and said, "Clean the mine. This was a waste of energy."_

"_Yes milord."_

* * *

Naruto's eyes shot open with a gasp and he shut the shower off just as the ship suddenly shook. Cursing under his breath, Naruto ran out of the shower to his room, pulling a pair of slacks on, before rushing to the cockpit where Kuramano and Aayla Secura were struggling to maintain control while navigating an asteroid field. Naruto put his hand on the shoulder of Kuramano's chair, "What's going on?"

"We came out of jump in an asteroid field!" Aayla answered with a growl, "Your friend wanted to take a shortcut! He's gonna get us killed!"

"You jumped into the asteroid belt?" Naruto asked the Wookiee, getting a small roar as an answer. The blonde smacked the Wookiee upside the back of the head, "Why didn't you wake me up? Move over, Secura, I live for this shit!"

The Twi'lek stared at the blonde, questioning his sanity, but did as he requested regardless. She didn't have much experience at navigating an asteroid field, so her ability to get out of this alive was significantly less than Naruto's. The Jedi moved to the chair just behind the Wookiee, allowing the half-dressed blonde to hop into the chair and take the controls. Naruto strapped himself in and looked over at the unnerved Twi'lek.

"Relax, Secura," he said, noticing her distress like a beacon, "I've done this seven times...and I've only crashed five times..."

"That's reassuring," Aayla muttered before buckling herself in, "Force me..."

Naruto rolled his eyes and looked ahead, diving down to avoid the large space rock hurtling towards them. The YT-model ship narrowly avoided the collision with a smaller asteroid that approached them, and the blonde pilot whooped in excitement as he maneuvered through the asteroid field recklessly.

"You're going to get us killed!" cried out the frightened Twi'lek, again mentally agreeing with a certain self-exiled Jedi Master in the argument of flying being for droids. The blonde pseudo-Felucian barked out a laugh at her unease. Blue eyes met brown and he smirked, opening his mouth to say something when a sudden blast flew past them.

"Holy Shit/By the Force!" Naruto and Aayla cried out together as the _Hino-Ishi_ dived down to avoid the debris from the obliterated asteroid. Kura roared irritably at the blonde as sirens filled the cockpit.

"I know, I know! Check the stabilizers and find out who the fuck shot at us!" Naruto shouted at the shaken Wookiee, before the ship rumbled again, just barely being nicked by another shot.

"Ok, now I'm getting pissed..." Naruto growled out with a twitch in his eye, glancing at his red furred co-pilot, "What's the status, Kura? Imperial?"

The Wookiee roared a confirmation, making the blonde groan before rushing from the cockpit, "Take the wheel! Secura, with me!"

"How many are there?" Aayla asked as she followed the irritated blonde to the middle of the ship, where he opened a door and slid down a ladder.

"Climb to the gun controls, Secura," Naruto ordered as he strapped himself into the underbelly turret controls, "We've got a small squadron of dispatched V-wings...which means the Gree-wannabe is in the cruiser that's following us."

"I thought we lost them when we jumped?" Aayla questioned as she strapped into the top turret controls, "How'd they catch us?"

"Well, we did raise quite the flag when we busted the Wookiees out," Naruto muttered as he shot at a circling V-wing, smirking as the ship exploded when his blast pierced the hull, "Ha! Bull's-eye!"

"Don't get cocky, Namikaze," Aayla scolded as she shot at the attacking ships, scowling when the _Hino_ suddenly barrel-rolled, "What I wouldn't give to have my old starfighter..."

Naruto overheard her mutter and he filed the information away, before taking out another V-Wing. The blonde kept firing at the passing ships and asteroids, the latter being due to the fact that he wanted to keep the V-Wing ships at bay while he and the Twi'lek took them out. He caught a glimpse of the slowly approaching cruiser and scowled.

"Blast...Hey Kuramano, you might want to consider flooring it if you want to stay out of a cage!" the blonde cried to the Wookiee currently piloting the YT-1250. He got an agitated roar in reply, to which he shouted back, "Yeah, yeah, we're working on it! Stupid smartass Wookiee..."

Kuramano roared back making Naruto turn away from his current actions, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE HYPERDRIVE ISN'T WORKING?"

Aayla huffed as she took another V-Wing out, "They just keep coming! Not to mention that their speed surpasses your computer's targeting systems. They're coming in too fast!"

Naruto grumbled under his breath as he shot at another passing Imperial fighter, "If I had a credit every time that happened...Knew I should've invested in that damn upgrade...How we coming on that jump, Kura?"

The Wookiee roared back at the blonde, making him groan, "Dammit...Alright, this isn't getting us anywhere. Secura, get back to the controls. Kura, I'm gonna hold them off for a minute before getting back up there, think you can out maneuver them?"

Getting a positive response, Naruto looked up at the blue skinned Twi'lek, "Go Secura!"

"I don't like this..." Aayla muttered as she climbed down the ladder before rushing to the cockpit. She arrived just in time to nearly get whacked by a large Wookiee arm, ducking under it with thanks to her Jedi training.

"Watch it, Kuramano!" the Twi'lek scolded the walking red furred Wookiee, receiving an irritated roar in return. Aayla scowled, her empathic abilities giving her a loose translation of what he said to her, "Don't get mad at me, you're the one that wanted to fly through an asteroid field!"

"She's got a point, Kura," pointed out the blonde pseudo-Felucian as he rushed to his controls, "Ok, let's see what we can work with here..."

Sirens suddenly started to blare and Naruto scowled, "Well, that's not good..."

"What happened?" Aayla asked as she leaned over his shoulder before scowling as well, "They took out the aft shields..."

"Yeah, so we gotta come up with something and fast," Naruto muttered back, turning the siren off before snapping his fingers, "Got it! Kura, redirect seventy-five percent of the forward shields to the rear."

Kura roared back his acknowledgement of the instructions and got to work, Naruto glanced at the blue skinned Twi'lek hovering over his shoulder, "Can I help you, Secura? Or are you going to give me a good luck kiss?"

Aayla blushed lightly and sat back, "What can I do?"

"That good luck kiss is still on the table," Naruto said with a smirk, earning him a smack upside the head, "Your loss, hot stuff. You wanna help? Find me the biggest and most stable asteroid in this damn mess."

"Yes _Captain_," Aayla replied sarcastically. Naruto rolled his eyes and looked back to the front, carefully evading asteroids and laser blasts alike as he piloted the _Hino-Ishi_. Kura glanced at the blonde from the corner of his eyes and growled lowly. Naruto snapped a glare on his co-pilot and friend.

"Now is _not_ the time, you walking ball of fur!" he snarled before suddenly barrel rolling to the right, causing a closely following V-wing ship to collide head-on with a speeding asteroid. Naruto laughed, "Ha! Take that, Fett-face!"

Aayla looked at the blonde, "Namikaze, the largest asteroid is directly to our right. I scanned it and found a large cave we could hide in."

"Oh, we're not hiding in it," Naruto said with a smirk as he flew the _Hino-Ishi_ towards the asteroid, "We're feeding it."

"...Feeding it?" Aayla asked out of confusion. Naruto glanced over at her.

"You'll see, just please don't scream," the blonde jokingly pleaded, getting an amused smile from the woman. He looked over at Kura, who growled loudly, and he gave the Wookiee an apologetic smile, "Yeah, we're going to do _that_ again..."

Kuramano gave what could be considered the equivalent to a groan of annoyance. The blonde pilot smirked at his friend and stayed true to his course. As he expected, the three closest V-wings followed immediately after his ship. Naruto smirked and shook his head.

_Idiots,_ he thought before suddenly diving down into the largest cavern hollowed out in the immense space rock. As soon as he got a safe distance in, he landed the _Hino-Ishi_ and shut all power off save for it's auxiliary.

"Ok...they should be passing overhead right about..." Naruto waited until the familiar sound of pinging given by his radar went off before smirking, "Now! Do it Kura!"

Kuramano roared and jumpstarted the ship, making the YT-1250 roar to life as Naruto randomly shot a few times before the cavern shook. Aayla looked at the blonde with an arched brow as she tightly gripped the back of his seat, her grip becoming deadly when Naruto suddenly shot towards the exit of the cavern.

"The cavern's collapsing!" she exclaimed in worry when she saw the opening of the cave slowly close. Naruto smirked.

"Well, you're partially right," Naruto said to her with a grin, earning a quizzical stare from the blue skinned Jedi, "But it's not a cave."

"...I'm sorry, what?" asked the Twi'lek. Naruto's grin widened and he laughed when the collapsing 'cave' closed completely, escaping the 'cave' before they were trapped. Naruto sped the ship up and activated the rear-camera, Aayla's eyes going to it immediately.

A large set of jaws slowly backed away and a large, eyeless worm sank back into the hole they had left the V-Wings in. She looked at the snickering blonde and asked, "So...What in all of the Galaxy was _that_?"

"To be honest, I haven't a clue!" cheerfully answered Naruto as he punched in a few coordinates to a nearby station, "But, I know that we're just a small jump away from Cloud City, and my baby needs to be fixed up. If you're good, I might even get you a souvenir."

Aayla pinched the bridge of her nose, "You're acting so weird...does it have something to do with your previous addiction?"

Naruto's smile fell slightly and he quietly replied, "Yeah...something like that..."

The Twi'lek blinked and exchanged a look with the Wookiee, who shook his head before returning to giving the ship's systems another glance. Naruto's sudden curse got her attention, "What's wrong?"

"I forgot about the Uchiha...I hope they received that payment I sent them..." Naruto muttered, getting his two companions' attention.

"The who?" Aayla asked with a frown, not recalling the name, "Is it a Hutt family?"

"God I wish they were," moaned the blonde as he activated the hyper-drive autopilot before holding his head, "If only it was a Hutt family. No, the Uchiha are the police force of Cloud City, and they're _extremely_ strict. Not to mention a good portion of them are addicted to the old Sith spice, Red Eye. They'll accuse someone loitering the second they step off a ship. Last time I was at Cloud City I was arrested for littering and held for a month before my dad busted me out."

"Why hasn't the Republic dealt with them?" Aayla asked with a frown, "And why haven't the Jedi heard of them?"

"Tch, the _Empire_ isn't going to do diddly squat for a no-name system that's run mostly by the Hutts. Word on the net is Emperor Palatine made a deal with every Hutt over certain control limits...but soon enough the Hutt are going to lose their control if they keep acting greedy."

He paused to let it all sink in before continuing, "As for why the Jedi hadn't heard of them...How the hell should I know, Ms. _Jedi_? I'm a freaking merc, not a goddamn gossip. All I know is if the Uchiha want to arrest you, they will. So we have to be extremely careful...and we might want to find a way to disguise you."

Aayla nodded in agreement, looking at her arm before sighing, "This is gonna be a _long_ day, I just know it."

"You and me both, Secura..." Naruto agreed with her subtle dismay. Even Kuramano roared his agreement. The three separated and went to their respective rooms to get a short nap in before returning to the cockpit.

* * *

Hours later, the group found themselves landing on dock 342 of Cloud City, no trouble at all. Naruto activated the internal computer defenses before following his two shipmates. The blonde threw an arm around the both of them, easily giving the Twi'lek a side hug around the shoulders while his other arm went around the Wookiee's mid back.

"Listen to me very carefully," Naruto hissed before pushing forward and leading them into the city, "Something's wrong here. I can feel it."

"Same here," Aayla agreed, absentmindedly rubbing her right arm, "There's a large disturbance in the Force here...Like..."

"Like a lot of people have just died?" Naruto whispered. The two companions looked at him and found him staring in horror at something. Following his gaze, Kura gave a roar of anger while Aayla swallowed back the bile that had come up her throat. There were blaster burns and fires in many of the shops, and screaming was now noticeable to the three newcomers before it was suddenly silenced. But the posting of a dead body outside the shops was what got their attention.

Another scream echoed nearby, followed by the cry of a child before it was suddenly silenced. And another. And another. The three rushed towards the screams within a large housing complex and through the door.

What they saw would never leave their minds. Bodies of many dark haired, red-eyed people were circled around one man with long black hair, dressed in the black and grey uniform of the Cloud City Security Department. He was caked in blood and in his hand was a sobbing infant. The man snapped the child's neck, making the three behind him step back out of horror.

"...So...You've returned, Namikaze," the man said in an icy tone before he slowly turned to glare at them with strange red eyes that had a weird symbol within them, "Come on in, then. We have much to discuss."

* * *

**AN: Oh yeah, now the fun begins. The Uchiha Massacre within the Star Wars Universe. That's right, Naruto's older than Sasuke...Or **_**is**_** he? You'll just have to wait to find out, won't you?**

**Review my subordinates! It will please me...**


	6. SORRY

**This is the Note you all dread. After nearly a year of inaction (perhaps longer), I regret to inform you that...**

**I have to rewrite and repost A Jedi and Her Shadow.**

**Thanks for reading and keep an eye out this weekend for the updated version of my fic!**


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